International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCQB: ISCO) (www.internationalstemcell.com),
a California-based biotechnology company focused on the therapeutic
applications of human parthenogenetic stem cells, announced today the
publication of its breakthrough method of deriving neuronal cells for
the treatment of Parkinson's disease in Scientific Reports, a primary
research publication from the publishers of Nature.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder caused by a progressive loss of dopamine-producing neurons resulting in gradual dysfunction of the motor system. Pharmacological treatments are useful in the relatively early stage of the disease, but the continuous use of pro-dopaminergic medication eventually becomes ineffective and can worsen some of the motor symptoms. ISCO is developing a treatment for PD based on replacing the lost neurons with new neuronal cells derived from human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSC). To this end ISCO has developed a sophisticated and efficient manufacturing process for neuronal cells which has now been published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports.
The paper describes the technology, developed by ISCO's R&D team, for producing highly pure populations of GMP-grade neuronal cells suitable for pre-clinical studies and clinical trials. The neuronal cells created using this approach are further characterized using a number of analytical methods and shown to function in a similar manner to adult cells. Moreover, neuronal cells produced using this new method, express greater levels of dopamine, the neurotransmitter central to PD, than previously reported approaches. Furthermore, these hpSC-derived neuronal cells are cryopreservable and can be stored frozen, and provides a practical route to creating neurons of sufficient quality to be used to treat Parkinson's disease patients.
"It is important that our research is reviewed and validated by the scientific community and being able to publish in a Nature-branded, journal provides confirmation of the quality of ISCO's scientific research," commented Dr. Andrey Semechkin, CEO and Co-Chairman.
The full-text of the publication can be found at http://www.nature.com/srep/2013/130315/srep01463/full/srep01463.html
Contacts:
International Stem Cell Corporation
Dr. Simon Craw
Executive Vice President
Phone: 760-940-6383
Email: ir@intlstemcell.com
Dr. Ruslan Semechkin
Vice President, R&D
Phone: 760-940-6383
Email: ras@intlstemcell.com
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder caused by a progressive loss of dopamine-producing neurons resulting in gradual dysfunction of the motor system. Pharmacological treatments are useful in the relatively early stage of the disease, but the continuous use of pro-dopaminergic medication eventually becomes ineffective and can worsen some of the motor symptoms. ISCO is developing a treatment for PD based on replacing the lost neurons with new neuronal cells derived from human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSC). To this end ISCO has developed a sophisticated and efficient manufacturing process for neuronal cells which has now been published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports.
The paper describes the technology, developed by ISCO's R&D team, for producing highly pure populations of GMP-grade neuronal cells suitable for pre-clinical studies and clinical trials. The neuronal cells created using this approach are further characterized using a number of analytical methods and shown to function in a similar manner to adult cells. Moreover, neuronal cells produced using this new method, express greater levels of dopamine, the neurotransmitter central to PD, than previously reported approaches. Furthermore, these hpSC-derived neuronal cells are cryopreservable and can be stored frozen, and provides a practical route to creating neurons of sufficient quality to be used to treat Parkinson's disease patients.
"It is important that our research is reviewed and validated by the scientific community and being able to publish in a Nature-branded, journal provides confirmation of the quality of ISCO's scientific research," commented Dr. Andrey Semechkin, CEO and Co-Chairman.
The full-text of the publication can be found at http://www.nature.com/srep/2013/130315/srep01463/full/srep01463.html
Contacts:
International Stem Cell Corporation
Dr. Simon Craw
Executive Vice President
Phone: 760-940-6383
Email: ir@intlstemcell.com
Dr. Ruslan Semechkin
Vice President, R&D
Phone: 760-940-6383
Email: ras@intlstemcell.com
